Rated 'R' for geriatric nudity

Since our last post, Dan had 3 whole weeks off of school before summer session started and we were ready to party like rockstars! Nevermind that we were immediately sidetracked and--in true rockstar spirit-- became totally content hanging out at home, ordering take-out, and watching Netflix...

Lucky for us, we were free as birds to enjoy Bay to Breakers-- the renowned annual 12k foot race in SF. (Runners start at the bay at the east side of the city and run all the way across SF to the breakers of the Pacific ocean at Ocean Beach.) I can't stress it enough... this is a major event in San Fran. More than a race--it's a giant parade of weirdo costumes or lack thereof, {legal} public drinking and general craziness! Thousands of people participate, but only about 40% are registered runners... some of whom dress up (or down) to rock the tradition. The other 60%... well... they're just in costume and running/walking/sauntering/stumbling for pure joy. We were not about to miss all the action... so we packed a picnic and people watched + snapped pics until our heart's content.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: this is not LA. Peeps around here are certainly proud of their bodies, but not because they're rock hard. The young, pretty, college-age crowd were all fully clothed... it's the 65+ age group that was lovin' the breeze in their nether-regions. The novelty of watching old-naked-marathoning hippies never wore off... and by the afternoon's end we were shamelessly gawking at all the hotties.

**Somehow through the wonderful family grapevine this story was terribly misconstrued... and after fielding a few concerned phone calls, I thought I should set the record straight... listen up: we absolutely did NOT spend the weekend in a nudist colony! Yes, we are still God-fearing Jesus-loving people, and we're not morphing into full-fledged hippies...yet. ;) Sheesh, it's not like we were the naked ones! What's wrong with a little eye candy? ;)

In other debauchery news: last week the City of San Francisco issued a warrant for Dan's arrest with a $390 bail contingency. Truth. I freaked out. He beamed with pride.

Turns out it was for a boring delinquent 'fix-it' ticket for his car and he now has a court date scheduled within a few weeks. But for a few glorious days Dan got to live his dream as an outlaw...

The next weekend we managed to travel down the coast a bit for a long weekend camping extravaganza in Santa Cruz-- a hoppin' not-so-little surfer town with gorgeous mountains & beaches. Plus there's a nifty beach boardwalk with fair food and rides :) One of the American Idol cast-offs (James Durbin?) was there performing, so the place was packed with adoring home-town fans and news crews. We're not American Idol fans and we tried to avoid that crazy crowd... sorry, no pic of the superstar :)

It was rushy rushy when we left home, and when we got to the campsite we realized we forgot our bag of food. We would have never forgotten our cooler full of beer though. Who needs to eat?

Sadly the next day was a bit overcast and rainy, so we spent the morning at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Truly impressive!

Now Dan's summer session started and I'm back to watching Netflix alone. *sigh. Can't wallow too long-- I'm homeward bound this weekend to throw a bridal shower for my sister-in-law to be... Looking forward to catching up with friends and fam!

8 great spring things.

Spring in the foggy city ain't so foggy these days... and we're loving every sun-drenched second :) In fact, California livin' is treating us so darn good, I'm obliged to spill some heavenly highlights:

1::: Dan finished spring semester! 3 blissful weeks until summer school starts... finally some long-awaited free time with my man-- it's a beautiful thing.

2::: I discovered the biggest, juiciest, most perfect strawberries yesterday at the little farmer's market down the road for a whopping 49cents a carton. cheap! I bought five (a bit excessive, I know), but how could I pass up a deal like that? Today I learned that less than $1 the going rate for strawberries in the summertime here in the wild west... my tastebuds are rejoicing and life is good.

3::: Off the Grid mobile food carts are rockin' the town. Trucks congregate in designated parks to sell a variety of tasty cuisine... order through the passenger side window and pick up your grub in the back... fuss-less, cheap, sustainable & delicious... it's pure genious and oh-so-fun! Our faves: beef + basil potstickers and the creme brulee :)

4::: Golden Gate Park is the perfect haven for all my nostalgic desires-- flower conservatories, rose gardens, Japanese tea gardes, lakes for rowing & paddling, beaches, music, hiking, biking... this place has it all. I've spent many a hour on my days off lounged on the lawn reading a book + working on my (read: struggling to get) tan.

5::: Finally bit the bullet and antied up to the DMV. Nearly 5 hours and $250 later, Janet my faithful Sunfire, and I are officially California girls.

6::: Dreaming and scheming plans for a rooftop garden... I aspire to grow a bright green thumb and create an oasis such as this:

and here's what I have so far:

ha. a sweet yellow rosebush + watering jug gifted to me by my encouraging husband who beams with pride at the thought of his wife growing things. (Truthfully, our landlord would never go for a full garden extravaganza --nor do I have the skill!-- so a girl's gotta start small... a few planters filled with fresh herbs and delightful flowers will do for now...)

7::: Our friend Kyle Drake stayed with us for a bit... he was in town for business + pleasure, and his company made our week much sweeter :)

8::: Lastly, I have exciting news on the job front: I was recently given the opportunity to train as a critical care transport nurse... which means when the need arises, I travel with a team via ambulance / helicopter / medical plane to get sick sick kiddos and bring them back to Stanford (where I work). It's not a change in my job exactly, I'm still a nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), but when I am working and a transport needs to be done, I'm their gal :) I'm stoked about this new challenge and I'm loving the new skills & thrills!


So there you go... 8 great things happening in the Bakke home these days. Now we'd love to know what is putting the pep in your step this spring...?!

Hotel Bakke: 4 stars.

Well crap. Nearly TWO months since our last post... what can I say? Time gets away from me here in Bakkeland. If you're thinking that our lackluster blog life means things have been dull + uneventful for me & homeboy, well... you'd be wrong, my friend (ahem, Sean!)

In fact, our visitor-packed March was probably the most exciting (read: we survived and successfully recovered) in San Fran yet! Every night at the Bakke B&B was occupied from the first week of March thru the last... truth! Although it was busy and we spent the better part of a week catching our breath at the month's end, we loved playing tour guide for our friends and fam.

To kick things off, I spent the first March weekend in Milwaukee with my college girlfriends-- we got to shower one mama-to-be (due in the next couple weeks... ahh!) and I was finally able to meet the newest girly addition to our group:

Meet Evelyn {Evie}-- have you ever seen such big blue eyes? This girl is a looker... a real life doll :) *Thanks for opening your home to all of us, Scottbergs!

I got home Sunday eve, and Todd and Sheryl arrived Monday morning... we spent the beautiful day seeing the GG Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and more :) Dan and I took our maiden voyage to Alcatraz with the 'rents... it was fantastic {a must if you're ever in the bay area!} The rest of the week flew by-- both Dan and I worked a bit, so Todd and Sheryl bravely conquered SF municipal transport like champs :) They also treated themselves to a fan-cy camera for Christmas and broke it out for the San Fran sights, so I only snapped a few pics with my peon of a camera :

Sadly, Todd had to cut his vacay a little short to attend his aunt's funeral in Texas, and they were our tour-guide guinea pigs, so we'd be happy to have Ma & Pa Bakke back again any time to see what we missed this time around :)

Next came my dear friend Jenna. She is lucky enough to have 2 sets of amigos in San Fran, so she got to split her time both ways. With good ol' Amber, she got to see the GG bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and more! It was a little rainy, but we managed to spend some QT snuggled up watching movies and ordering pizza. Never ones to miss a chance to wear our dancing shoes, we *had to spend an evening on the town and discovered SF is home to a hoppin' Monday night life :) Again, here are just a couple snapshots (I had more, but they were lost in cyberspace):

Jenna tagged out Wednesday afternoon and the Brunn parents tagged in that night... just enough time for a quick grocery run and a kitchen sweep, and back to the airport we went! Had a fabulous week with my peeps, and despite some rainy weather, we still managed to see GG Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and more! Enjoyed some ice cream at Haight-Ashbury, loved the cityscape views from Coit tower, spotted the parrots on Telegraph Hill, perused Chinatown, and even savored a sushi dinner (a big hit and a new tradition for us, I think!). Also made a trip to Muir Woods {to see the giant Redwood trees} and up the coast to check out the headlands and Stinson Beach... these were a first for me (and definitely NOT the last... beautiful!), so I took some pics of my own this time:

Our dear friends Kate & Chris swooped in the next week, and Hotel Bakke was double booked for a day :) We picked up the Swansons and drove right up to wine country for a day of delicious wine tasting, spectacular views and good company!

The next day my parents took off, and I took Kate & Chris for a day of sight seeing. We saw the GG Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and more! Getting old yet? Try living it. (j/k- 'twas awesome to show off the fair city... and good exercise. My legs are ripped ;) We had a rockin' time with the Swanson duo! Explored the SF Giant's stadium, gazed at the famed Painted Ladies, hit up a happenin' brewpub in Haight Ashbury, saw GGpark, hiked the Marin Headlands and enjoyed some heavenly grub... most notably a sundae at Ghiradelli Square... yum. Spent some quality couch time together on a rainy day too! Must say thanks to Chris for taking the back seat to Kate + Amber time... you're a real trooper, my friend... I know you didn't love shopping with us, but who else was gonna hold all our fitting room rejects? ;)

If you're thinking that Dan the Man seems noticeably absent from this whirlwind month, that's because he was. Unfortunately he was swamped at work AND doing double duty for school... poor manly man was only able to take 2 half days off to spend with our guests. Thankfully things have slowed down a bit in the last week or so... it was just bad timing for the cats who hoped to see more of him :( Call the whaaa-mbulance, I played hostess by myself mostly, which means that while our visitors were missing my man, I was missing him too! Don't worry- we've since reconnected:

Wouldn't be a complete update without a kissing pic, right? ;)

All in all, it was a doozie of a March... action-packed and full of fun... one we will not soon forget! We *loved having all our visitors and the bustling month flew by! Not only was it wonderful to show off the splendid city, it was nice to share a bit of our lives with people we love, you know?

Now we've caught our breath, rested our feet, finished up our laundry (well, I didn't do it... heh) and we're ready for round #2! The guest bed is made... who's next?!

hello... anyone there?

Apologies to all (three? four?) of you who have been waiting oh-so-patiently for an update on the swell happenings in the Bakke household. Days march by, weeks fly, and we've just been happy to keep on keepin' on...

Here's the hot news in the 36 days since our last post:

** Dan started semester #2 off with a bang! Thrilled to report he's still enthralled with school-- dutifully studying the tricks of the green business trade. Mixing business with pleasure, he's bringing his sparkly new knowledge + ideas home with him... to me, his supportive yet irritated wife. Impromptu lectures on the importance of composting are getting pretty old :) This week he insisted I take a personality profile survey- the same one he took in a class. You'll be happy to know our personalities are compatible but have the potential to "combust." And let me say, one more spiel about the terrible chemicals in my dry shampoo and sparks may fly!! (kidding, of course... ;)

** The weather in San Fran is b-e-a-u-tiful these days! Made our way to China beach and snapped a few pics:

Wave 'hi' to the camera!

**Also had plenty-o time one sunny Saturday for a rousing game of Frolf (frisbee golf) in Golden Gate Park with our fab friends Nikki + Nate... who have wedding bells in their future! Congrats to the happy couple!

Sweet action shot! It may look like the disc would be headed straight for the woods, but 'twas right.on.target. *Just kidding- it definitely ended up in the woods... which is where I spent most of this glorious Saturday looking for my red discs.

Mr. Triumphant Manly Man here has mad Frolf skillz...

Caught the gorgeous sunset at Ocean Beach. Had the pleasure of snapping a few romantic pics of the Mr. & Mrs. to-be, but forgot to take one with my own camera... :(

** Last, but not least, I traveled to the frozen MN tundra for a quick weekend getaway. Unfortunately, Dan couldn't escape school and work this time... but definitely the next! Now, if you're wondering why I didn't give you a jingle while in town, here's why- #1. limited time (haven't been home since we moved 6 mos ago!!! & needed some QT with my fam, you see), and #2. this:

My sweet niece Katie... isn't she a doll? Haven't seen her since we moved and I ached knowing I was missing out on her few precious months of baby 'hood. Spent all weekend kissing & cuddling this sweet babe... be still my heart, I'm missing her already!

Now we're preparing for a bu-sy March! The Bakke B&B is booked the entire month with visitors... and we couldn't be more excited to play host + hostess, provide respite from the chilly midwest, and show peeps around the fair city...

Bid you farewell with best intentions of posting more regularly... thanks for reading!

Mele Kalikimaka is the Hawaiian way...

Well, sadly, our week for two in Polynesian paradise has ended... but what a week it was! Blue skies, sun shining, waves crashing, swim-up bars & sun tans-- this is the stuff dreams are made of. We had a *wonderful time-- now we're back to the daily grind. Our tans are fading fast and our beach bumming shenanigans seem like a distant memory.

We started the week on Oahu-- as touristy as it is, we couldn't resist the tempting draw of Waikiki Beach + Pearl Harbor (plus it was cheap :) On Christmas Day, we took a 30min plane ride to Kaua'i-- known the "Garden Island" for the last four days. Stunning sights + lazy pace-- this place was Utopia.

Excited to share our *just a few of our favorite pics:

Waikiki Beach and our floaty. I thought it was a fabulous idea for enjoying the ocean, and after the two hours it took our poor lungs to blow it up... it was as wonderful as I hoped!

Hiked about 1/2 way up Diamond Head crater and then learned it was closed for the day. Sweet. So we jumped the fence and poked around the national park area for a while until I got too nervous, then we left.

Christmas Eve. Bought these Santa hats before we left-- I was totally jazzed about taking a pic with them to forever remember Christmas 2010- Hawaii style! Dan was not so stoked about the idea. Lucky for me, he was a trooper anyway :)

A small preview of Waikiki Beach + hotels dressed for Christmas. We celebrated the Holy Night with a little Christmas carol hula and walk on the beach. Bottom left is a GIANT gingerbread town... very impressive!

Pearl Harbor. Admittedly, I thought it would be cheesy and didn't really want to go... so glad Dan wouldn't take no for an answer. It was awesome. Learned more than we imagined we would and {in a nutshell} gained a much greater appreciation of soldiers, war, our government and President Roosevelt.

Check out the battleships and Dan's big guns.
Hardee har har.

Made a second *successful trip up Diamond Head crater to take in the spectacular views of Honolulu and the rest of Oahu.

Snapshots of our time on Oahu!

Our last day at the dreamy beach.

Up bright & early for our trek to Kaua'i.

Arrived at the resort a little before 10am and we spent the whole day pool + beach bumming.
Broke out the Santa hats again :)

Fun fact about Dan: he loves birds. Not joking. He loves bird watching & then talks/speculates about what type they are, where they came from, and so on. A 27 year old bird- obsessed old man. Much to his delight, the island is filled with chickens (a hurricane blew the roof off a chicken coop a few years ago and they gave up trying to re-recruit the chickens). Numerous times a day I would hear,"Whoa! Amber, look at that bird! Do you see that? Give me the camera." So here are 2 of about 40 bird pics he proudly took.

Enjoying the pool, spa and fake waterfall.

Our {wonderful!} Christmas present from Dan's parents was some mullah to do something we wouldn't have splurged on ourselves... so we took a day catamaran tour up the Na pali Coast for stunning views and whale watching. Check out the link... our inferior camera and ill-timed overcast clouds made it impossible capture the splendor. Bottom right: dolphins were playing/surfing in front of the boat. So fun! We did see whales, but weren't quick or skilled enough to snap a non-fuzzy pic :(
It was awesome... thanks Todd & Sheryl!

Hoped to go on a kayak & waterfall adventure the next day, but rainy conditions filled the river 2,000% so we were out of luck. Spent some quality time on the beach instead!

My parents treated us to a Hawaiian lua'u for Christmas. Again, it was a little rainy that evening, but fun nonetheless! When in Hawaii, do as the tourists do: a lua'u is definitely a cheesy-must do activity when you're in Hawaii. Traditional pig roast, open bar and impressive show...
we had a blast!
Thanks to you, mom & dad!

Zip lining on our last day over the canopy...

Our blissful week came to an end.

Although we had a rockin' good time this season, it's no replacement for some quality time with family and friends. We're hoping to make a trip home soon!

Otherwise, if you have an itch to visit the city by the bay, or you just want to see our smiling faces, we'd love to have you!
The Bakke B&B is open for business... so book soon and stay as long as possible :)

Hope your holidays were full of joy & wishing you the Happiest of New Years!